Plantae

Plants are essential for human survival: as food, sources of raw materials, and providers of oxygen and shade. With their rich variety of colors and shapes, they make our modern, often heavily built environment a more beautiful place. From Abelia to Zoysia, whether native, naturalized, or as neophytes, they thrive in gardens and parks, in urban areas, in the open landscape, and on balconies or terraces. However, intensive agriculture, urbanization processes, and climate change are leading to a gradual loss of biodiversity. This extraordinary reference work presents around 4,000 coniferous, deciduous, and flowering shrubs, perennials, and grasses in detail and with practical relevance. Each plant portrait describes the genus, species, and variety in terms of origin and distribution, growth, and important identifying features, as well as special characteristics. Urs Lüscher, an expert with immense experience, also adds notes on the appropriate use and utilization of numerous plants, attractive combinations, or current and future challenges in their cultivation. Three large-format, beautifully designed volumes in a slipcase, illustrated with around 8,000 color images, are complemented by an enclosed gardening ABC, which provides explanations of numerous terms from gardening practice and is also richly illustrated.